Anthropology of Food
University of Minnesota Duluth
Tim Roufs ©2014
a primer on . . .
The 1992
USDA food pyramid
the United States
Department of Agriculture
is known widely
for its “food guide pyramid” . . .
one of the
most recognized logos in the world
The 1992
USDA food pyramid
this is the old (1992) version
the 1992 “Food Guide Pyramid”
the 1992 Food Guide Pyramid
was replaced by
MyPyramid
on 19 April 2005
The 2005 USDA food guide pyramid
the 2005 MyPyramid
was replaced by
MyPlate
on 2 June 2011
MyPyramid was replaced by MyPlate on 2 June 2011
Inflatable
USDA
Food Pyramid
http://www.ethnicfoodsco.com/Japan/JapaneseFoodPyramid.htm
United States
Department of
Agriculture
Inflatable
USDA
Food Pyramid
http://www.ethnicfoodsco.com/Japan/JapaneseFoodPyramid.htm
by law, the primary mission of the USDA is
to promote U.S. agriculture
the USDA should not to be confused with
United States
Food and Drug
Administration
the
United States
Food and Drug Administration
is responsible for regulating and
supervising the safety of foods,
dietary supplements, etc.
promotes
U.S.A.
regulates
U.S.A.
agriculture
food safety
Inflatable USDA Food Pyramid
www.ethnicfoodsco.com/Japan/JapaneseFoodPyramid.htm
promotes
U.S.A.
regulates
U.S.A.
agriculture food safety
and in addition
there is the
which is charged to
protect U.S.A.
promotes
U.S.A.
regulates
U.S.A.
agriculture food safety
human health
and the
environment
is charged to
protect U.S.A.
human health
and the
environment
EPA
but . . .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epa
is charged to
protect U.S.A.
human health
and the
environment
EPA
but . . .
a big question for them is . . .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epa
10 July 2008
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25626294/
10 July 2008
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25626294/
10 July 2008
human life
was officially devalued
$900,000
by the G. W. Bush
Administration
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25626294/
10 July 2008
So what?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25626294/
10 July 2008
“The the EPA figure is not based on people's
earning capacity, or their potential contributions to
society, or how much they are loved and needed by
their friends and family — some of the factors used
in insurance claims and wrongful-death lawsuits.
Instead, economists calculate the value based on
what people are willing to pay to avoid certain risks,
and on how much extra employers pay their
workers to take on additional risks.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25626294/
10 July 2008
“Though it may seem like a harmless
bureaucratic recalculation,
the devaluation has real consequences.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25626294/
10 July 2008
“Dan Esty, a senior EPA policy official in the first
Bush administration and now director of the Yale
Center for Environmental Law and Policy, said that
‘it's hard to imagine that it has other than a political
motivation.’"
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25626294/
10 July 2008
“When drawing up regulations, government
agencies put a value on human life and then weigh
the costs versus the lifesaving benefits of a
proposed rule. The less a life is worth to the
government, the less the need for a regulation, such
as tighter restrictions on pollution.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25626294/
e.g.,
Factory Farming
(CAFOs)
has environmental impacts
and health risks . . .
EPA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAFO
10 July 2008
“Consider, for example, a hypothetical regulation
that costs $18 billion to enforce but will prevent
2,500 deaths. At $7.8 million per person (the old
figure), the lifesaving benefits outweigh the costs.
But at $6.9 million per person, the rule costs more
than the lives it saves, so it may not be adopted.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25626294/
e.g., Factory Farming
(CAFOs) and
decisions affect
animal welfare,
food ethics . . .
EPA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAFO
and to the list
federal regulators
you must also add
is charged to
promotes
U.S.A.
regulates
U.S.A.
agriculture food safety
protect U.S.A.
human health
and the
environment
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
“works to protect public health and safety by
providing information to enhance health decisions”
10 July 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centers_for_Disease_Control_and_Prevention
is charged to
promotes
U.S.A.
regulates
U.S.A.
agriculture food safety
protect U.S.A.
human health
and the
environment
an excellent work that sorts all of this out
is Marion Nestle’s
Food
Politics
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
“works to protect public health and safety by
providing information to enhance health decisions”
is charged to
protect U.S.A.
human health
promotes
regulates
and the
U.S.A.
U.S.A.
and, of course,environment
agriculture food safety
The United States
Supreme Court
trumps everybody . . .
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
“works to protect public health and safety by
providing information to enhance health decisions”
for e.g.,
10 July 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/01/us/01water.html?th&emc=th
and results . . .
10 July 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/01/us/01water.html?th&emc=th
and results . . . more violations and fewer enforcement actions . . .
10 July 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/01/us/01water.html?th&emc=th
10 July 2008
“When drawing up regulations, government
agencies put a value on human life and then weigh
the costs versus the lifesaving benefits of a
proposed rule. The less a life is worth to the
government, the less the need for a regulation, such
as tighter restrictions on pollution.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25626294/
. . . and when tighter restrictions on
10 July parties
2008
pollution are attempted the affected
[legally] fight the regulations to
the US Supreme Court.
Net result:
the USDA
and the FDA
and the EPA
and the CDC
[fill in the blank __________________]
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25626294/
again, an excellent treatment of all of this can be found in . . .
Marion Nestle
Food Politics: How
the Food Industry
Influences
Nutrition and
Health
University of California Press
2007